The security force charged with keeping runners, spectators, volunteers and the community safe during Big Sur International Marathon events this weekend will be significantly larger than in previous years, a precautionary response to the bombings at the Boston Marathon.

But the two races are very different, as are the security challenges, said Michael Klein, a 50-year law enforcement veteran who will oversee safety at the 28th annual Big Sur marathon.

"The big difference, of course, is that our marathon is a run through a rural area, whereas Boston obviously is a major metropolitan area," said Klein, 69, Sand City's police chief and a Big Sur volunteer for almost 20 years.

In Boston, the course can be accessed from various directions, but "our event has no lateral accessibility," he said. "The only access is one route from the north, and another from the south."

Klein declined to talk in-depth about the details of his security plan or the specifics of additional resources he will have. But he said his force will include "tons more resources" than in previous years, including personnel and equipment from the state and federal governments, and local first responders from public safety agencies of every discipline.

Among the agencies that will be represented will be the California Highway Patrol, California Emergency Management Agency, Cal Fire, Monterey County Sheriff's Office, Monterey Police Department, Sand City Police Department and the Monterey Regional Airport Fire Department.

All will be coordinated into an incident command system that will be based on training models used by the federal government for mass casualty disaster response.

"The problem with marathons from the 'target' perspective is that an event like Big Sur is a very soft target," Klein said. "At an airport, or an arena, you can have screens, metal detectors, wands and resources like that. At an event like the Big Sur marathon, it's impossible to have those things all the way up and down the race course. So that presents some very unique security challenges."

While a terrorist attack similar to the one in Boston is a possibility Klein takes seriously, his approach to maintaining security and being prepared for a major incident at Big Sur must be broad.

"We're very hopeful that we'll have the cooperation of all the people who will attend the marathon, either as spectators or participants or volunteers. Those people will be our eyes and ears out there, and we anticipate that they'll make reports of anything suspicious," he said.

For added safety, officials are reminding everyone in attendance that personal items such as bags, backpacks or coolers should not be left unattended. Any unattended items will be confiscated.

Klein said officials are also wary of natural disasters.

"We're also realistic enough to understand, for example, that earthquakes occur here in California — and, in fact, they will occur. We just don't know where or when. But obviously an event like that could create a mass casualty situation."

Doug Thurston, in his first year as race director, said the Big Sur International Marathon underwent a thorough review of its security measures in the wake of the Boston bombings.

"We're taking every precaution, doing everything we possibly can to ensure the safety of the public," he said.

Klein said security methods at the marathon have evolved over the years, and are constantly being improved and refined.

"We have, over the years, developed an incident-command system that was very adequate, but given the new developments from incidents like Boston, we've determined that we need to look at security here from a different perspective," he said. "We can't take it for granted that nothing will happen from the perspective of terrorism, and we have to be fully prepared to respond if a mass casualty incident is presented to us."

Klein's five decades in law enforcement have included 25 years as a police chief, as well as security experience for other major events, including the Monterey Bay Blues Festival.